How to Reduce Size Returns on a Shopify Clothing Store: A 5 Step Fix

Most advice on returns is storewide and vague. "Improve your size chart" is true in the same way "eat better" is true. This guide is the practical version for a Shopify store.

Why do size returns happen on Shopify stores?

A shopper cannot touch the fabric or hold the garment against themselves, so they guess. Brands also cut sizes differently, so a medium from your store may not match the medium in their wardrobe.

The guessing sometimes turns into buying two sizes and returning one. That habit has its own cost, covered in size bracketing and fashion returns. Every "I'll just order both" is a return you have already paid to ship twice.

How do you find which products cause size returns?

Returns are rarely spread evenly. A few products usually carry a disproportionate share, often a slim cut or a style with an unusual shoulder. Find those before you touch anything else.

When you process a return in Shopify admin, you choose a reason for each item, and apparel offers size options such as too big or too small. Export or review the last two or three months of returns and group them by product.

• Count returns per product, not per store.
• Split each product's returns into too small, too big, and everything else.
• Note whether one size is returned far more than the others.
• Rank the top ten and start there.

Return reasons are only as honest as the customer's mood on the day, so treat them as a signal, not a verdict. If a product shows mostly too small, the cut probably runs small and the page should say so.

How do you fix the size information?

Replace the one generic chart with product level detail. Measure the actual garment laid flat and publish the numbers for each size, not just the label.

• Garment measurements per size: chest, length, shoulder, sleeve, waist, inseam, whichever apply.
• A one line fit note: runs small, true to size, relaxed cut, size up for layering.
• The model's height and the size they are wearing.
• A short line on fabric stretch, because a stiff cotton and a stretch knit fit differently at the same number.

Keep the wording plain and consistent across products. If you want help choosing between chart apps, finders and fit engines, see fit and sizing apps for Shopify compared.

What should the product page show?

Photos do quiet work on sizing. A shopper reads drape and length from the image, so one flat photo of a long coat leaves a lot to the imagination.

• At least one worn shot and one flat or hanging shot.
• A back view for anything where length or fit through the back matters.
• Consistent lighting, so colors and fabric read the same across the catalog.

Clean photos also matter if you plan to use try-on, since the garment image is the reference. Our guide on how to photograph clothing for virtual try-on covers what renders well.

Where does virtual try-on help?

Some returns are not about number size at all. The shopper ordered the right size and the item simply looked different on them than on the model. Seeing it on their own photo before buying catches some of those.

Be clear about the limit: try-on does not output a size, so keep your measurements and fit notes in place. Corlen's Shopify app adds a try-on block to your product page in the theme editor, which needs an Online Store 2.0 theme. You can try the live demo with your own photo first.

What is the 5 step plan?

1. Export recent returns and group them by product and reason.
2. Pick the ten products with the most size related returns.
3. Add per product measurements, a fit note and model details to each page.
4. Add worn and back photos, then try-on, to those same products.
5. Wait a month and compare each product against the month before, using the metrics in how to measure virtual try-on results.

Fixing ten pages is less glamorous than a storewide relaunch, and it works better because you can see what moved. Start with the worst product and go from there.